TABLE OF CONTENTS This chapter considers the deposition parameters common to most of the deposition methods and describes possible effects of each deposition parameter on thin film structure. Subsequent chapters will examine the various structures produced in thin films and will attempt to relate these structures to the processing variables discussed in the present chapter.
Many deposition parameters may affect the structure of thin films and are common to all deposition methods. Let us attempt to develop a list of these parameters. All thin films are formed by the deposition of atoms onto a substrate. The origin of these atoms may be a vapor as in physical vapor deposition (PVD) or in chemical vapor deposition (CVD), a fluid as in electrodeposition or in liquid phase epitaxy (LPE), or a plasma.
A chamber is necessary to hold the vapor sources. The background pressure in an evacuated chamber affects the concentration of impurities that are incorporated in films deposited therein. Similarly, the concentration of impurities in the vapor phase determines the impurity content in films produced via CVD. The particles incident on a point on the substrate have kinetic energy and may have the same direction or random directions of incidence. These parameters are defined by the mass and velocity of each of these incident particles. Also, the flux of each species bombarding the film significantly affects the ultimate film structure. These parameters are equivalent to the deposition variables: deposition...
